PM hastened democratic decline

Whither democracy in Canada? Letters Dec. 8

Gary Dale, while acknowledging that Canadian satisfaction with democracy dropped 20 points from 2004, when Liberal Paul Martin was PM, soft-pedals that decline by blaming “successive Liberal and Conservative governments.” But the decline happened because there are huge differences between Martin and Stephen Harper, particularly in relation to honouring our democratic traditions.

Martin initiated a public inquiry into the sponsorship scandal, while Harper not only stonewalls any issue that may embarrass Conservatives, he prorogues Parliament to avoid scrutiny by the House of Commons.

While Harper shut down Parliament to avoid a no-confidence motion, Martin resigned when the NDP joined the Conservatives to bring down Martin, killing critical initiatives such as Kelowna, Kyoto and child care.

In the election campaign that followed, the NDP supported RCMP in subverting democracy, with the highly unusual public disclosure that an inquiry into the Liberals’ announcement about tax on income trusts was underway.

So while the Harper Conservatives are primarily responsible for disillusionment with our democracy, if other parties are to blame, that blame is not restricted to the Liberals.